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“The farm tax clerks (commis des Fermes) applied the orders of Colbert relating to the circulation of goods in the kingdom. The monarchy needed money and so taxes on goods were multiplied. The amount of these taxes and the difficulties in collecting them led the king to appoint a company of financiers to collect them in his name. The king therefore sold the right to collect the taxes to a farmer, who was responsible for recruiting tax collectors: known as the "commis des Fermes" – predecessors of customs officers – who went out to control and collect taxes and, where necessary, issue tickets. If the case was contested, it was referred to a judge, who had the job of repressing any misuse by the customs officers because the justice of the King had to give precedence to common interest.

The link between law and justice is a necessary, but blurred one, as law does not necessarily lead to justice. Justice is an institution which is fairly easy to define, but a value which is both inaccessible and one towards which we have to tend. There is no justice without the ideal of justice. I am interested in the history of law as an understanding of civilisation – human construction closely linked to progress. How has the human being managed to exercise self-restraint to pacify conflicts and to ensure a general well-being for most? The history of law is useful for understanding that civilisation only advances in small steps, but the important thing is that it advances. It allows us to put into perspective the way in which we look at society today, but also to reject what could appear as a setback. It helps us to understand the civilising work of the institutions which govern us, which ensure that if we can't love each other, we can at least get on together.”

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